PRESS RELEASE
Olen, Belgium - 19 January, 2021 - Today we announce the acquisition of OTN Systems by Belden Inc., a leading global provider of specialty networking solutions, enterprise and industrial markets. This change of ownership will allow OTN Systems to continue growing and scaling internationally.
In 2015, OTN Systems successfully launched XTran, a next generation platform tailored for industrial applications. Its underlying network technology choices avoid the complexity of generic solutions developed for Telecom Operators. XTran secures reliable operations in harsh environments, while its management system (TXCare) supports an intuitive and simple handling. Since its market introduction, more than 100 customers worldwide have selected XTran as they migrate their legacy telecom networks to a next generation technology.
The acquisition by Belden will further accelerate the expansion of the XTran portfolio as an essential part of a broader solution for industrial customers, marketed and supported by a larger, global organization. OTN Systems will be able to take the full benefit of the best practices of Belden, while maintaining its agility and focus as appreciated by our customers and partners.
Bart Diels, Managing Partner at Gimv and Chairman of the Board of OTN Systems, states: "We are particularly proud that OTN Systems has built a top-notch product portfolio. In several recent projects, OTN Systems’ commercial teams and XTran have outperformed larger telecommunications suppliers, resulting in exponential growth. As part of the Belden group, OTN Systems is now ideally placed to continue growing internationally.”
Dirk Van den Berghen, CEO of OTN Systems, adds: “OTN Systems' commercial success with XTran is the result of clear choices made. Unlike its larger traditional competitors, OTN Systems focuses exclusively on the specific telecommunication needs of industrial networks. It has also chosen to devote almost all its attention and resources to developing and marketing the new technology platform, without neglecting the many existing customers of the more mature OTN (Open Transport Network) legacy product. The acquisition by Belden will further accelerate the sales expansion of the XTran portfolio as an essential part of a broader solution for industrial customers, marketed by a larger, global sales organization."
About Gimv
Gimv is a European investment company, listed on Euronext Brussels. With 40 years' experience in private equity, Gimv currently has EUR 2 billion of assets under management. The portfolio contains around 50 portfolio companies, with combined turnover of EUR 2.5 billion and 14,000 employees.
As a recognized market leader in selected investment platforms, Gimv identifies entrepreneurial, innovative companies with high growth potential and supports them in their transformation into market leaders. Gimv's four investment platforms are Connected Consumer, Health & Care, Smart Industries and Sustainable Cities. Each platform works with an experienced team across Gimv’s home markets of Benelux, France and DACH, supported by an extended international network of experts.
Further information on Gimv can be found on www.gimv.com.
About Belden
Belden Inc. delivers a comprehensive product portfolio designed to meet the mission-critical network infrastructure needs of industrial and enterprise markets. With innovative solutions targeted at reliable and secure transmission of rapidly growing amounts of data, audio and video needed for today's applications, Belden is at the center of the global transformation to a connected world. Founded in 1902, the company is headquartered in St. Louis and has manufacturing capabilities in North and South America, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.belden.com or follow Belden on Twitter @BeldenInc.
